Party Bands

You’re planning a Special Get Together: Family. Work. Anniversary. Birthday. Engagement. What you want is to have a Great Time with Great Music. Fine. But how to make sure it really happens? Easy. Book a DG Music Party Band! And because we’ve got a fantastic line up of many kinds of band for you to choose from, here’s our handy guide to hiring a band for your Party…

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Choosing A Band - How Hard Can It Be?

Ok. What’s all the fuss about hiring Party Bands? After all, it sounds pretty straight-forward: you book ‘em; they turn up; they play. How hard can it be? Well, true… And of course it is all in the name! But if you think about it, any band in the world could play at your party, so there’s a lot of choice about. If you really want to make sure that you have a great time, you need to think carefully about exactly what it is that would make your party take off - and then make sure you choose a band that fits. And that’s what this section of the website all about.

Funk Soul Brother is the ultimate party band!

So What Sort of Party Bands Are There?

There’s every sort. DG music has more than 15 categories of bands you can choose from, and each category’s got lots of different bands in it. And of course we also provide solo artists and small groups who can play classical music as well as the regular pop music you might expect at a party. It just depends on what you want and what type of party it is. So where do we start?

Well, in general, there are two types of band that could play at your gig: Cover Bands and Style Specific Bands. Let’s have a look at these.

Cover Bands

“All we want is for everyone to have a great time!”

Just about everybody organising a party has this in mind. But think about it, there might be a problem if the age range of your guests is from young children to grandparents. Keeping everybody happy might be a bit of an ask. That’s where a Cover Band comes in. These bands specialise in playing their versions – cover versions – of songs from everybody’s Favourites play list. So there’s a good chance that you and all the people at your party will recognise nearly all of the tunes. Which keeps everybody of all ages happy, up on their feet, dancing and probably singing along!

It’s also worth bearing in mind that there are two kinds of Cover Band: smaller, Guitar-based bands; and larger Function Bands.

Guitar Bands are the bands we’ve all grown up with: three to five members playing guitar, bass and drums with some or all of them singing. Think the Beatles, the Kinks, the Killers or Franz Ferdinand and you’ve got it. These bands usually play rock, pop and rock ‘n’ roll from the 60s through to the present day, so the music will please everybody and feature hits from bands like the Rolling Stones, Queen, the Police and Dire Straits as well as modern acts like the Arctic Monkeys.

And of course you can focus on a particular period. If it’s a 60th birthday party or an anniversary for a couple who met in the 80s, you could choose a band who can play favourites from these decades. For example, The Wotsits are a great Party Band who can play different kinds of guitar music from lots of different periods. Or what about Absolute 80s, who’ve really got down the sound, look and feel of bands like Wham!, Duran Duran, Journey and Phil Collins?

Of course, you might want to enjoy dancing to Soul, Motown, Disco and Funk as well as the guitar-band style. In which case, what you want is a larger Function Band which, as well as the guitar band line-up, adds extra vocalists, a keyboard player and a brass section into the mix, providing you with that authentic full-on sound. Expect to hear music from artists such as Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Michael Jackson and Chic as well as modern classics from Daft Punk, Jay-Z and Bruno Mars.

A typical size for a band of this kind is around eight but you can go up to as many as 12 or even 15 if you want the full wall-to-wall sound! And, don’t forget that because these bands have more musicians, they can also play Jazz, Swing and Jive styles as well as pop and rock. If you want versatility, wide appeal and a broad repertoire, go for a Function Band. Of course, more musicians cost a little more. But many DG Music clients go for this option and are glad to pay a little extra to get a great deal more.

Style-Specific Bands

Unlike a Cover Band who play music from a range of different artists and times, Style-Specific Bands concentrate on one genre such as Rock ‘n’ Roll, Soul, Ska, Swing, Jive and so on.

The Houndogs Rockabilly band in action!

These bands are instantly recognisable from the way they look and the instruments they play, so you know exactly what you’re going to get. Take for example a Rockabilly band like The Houndogs in the picture. Check out the 50s quiffs, Gretsh guitar and slapping double-bass. Or what about Stardust Swing who capture the whole 40s vibe in stunning aithenticity? Or Govannen, who’ll make your Barn Dance or Ceilidh go with a real stomp with music from the Pogues, Van Morrison and Dubliners as well as traditional dance music.

These bands are specialists, dedicated to giving you the authentic look, sound and feel of the Style they play. Like all our musicians, they are experts. But they’re experts in a particular type of music. And if you want a particular type of music, then a Style-Specific Band is what you need.

And That’s It Really

So, all you need to do is...

Think about the people who are coming to your party and the music they might enjoy

Decide whether your party has a theme that you’d like the music to fit in with

Pick either a Cover Band, who will play a bit of everything; or pick a Style-Specific Band, who can deliver the authentic theme and style that you want.

And don’t forget… All our bands can offer some flexibility. They usually have standard times for arrival, set up and playing, as well as a fixed number of sets they‘ll play during the evening. But they’re usually happy to talk about making some variation to these standard arrangements if that will help you. Also, it’s worth noting that our bands can generally provide some recorded music to play between their appearances so the evening will have music throughout. And depending upon the situation, they might even consider bringing a slightly different-sized lineup, if that would better suit your venue. Just ask.

Making A Booking

Hiring a band is something that most people don’t do very often. And that’s why we’re here. We can make sure that practical matters such as electricity supply and facilities for the band at the venue are taken care of. In fact, there’s a good chance that we already know your venue because our bands have probably played there before. So we’ll be able to work with you and the venue to make sure that your party goes exactly as you would like it to.

All you’ve got to do is give us a call. DG Music is a Professional Music Agency, family run by musicians and with long experience of providing live and exciting music for all kinds of parties all over the country.

The DG Music 'Instant Quote' system is currently the only system available that allows you to obtain a price for musicians by the hour for any desired lineup. So, if you want a price right now, just fill out the main search form at the top of this page and click on the bands that catch your eye. From there you can obtain an instant quote for any option you choose.

On the other hand, if you’d rather speak to someone about your particular needs, please call for friendly expert advice on 01572 756386.